Just another MKVI suit!

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Andersson

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Hiya guys! :)

Been working on a MKVI suit and I a few questions and would like some tips etc etc
A few pics HERE. Don't want to clutter the whole post up with huge pics.

Status:
10maj.jpg



Helmet: Okey for now

Torso: When should I split it? After/before I've resined the outside? After fiberglassing the inside? Tips?

Ab piece: Not attached to the torso. Should it be, or could I wear it some other way without it looking weird?

Shoulders: Okey for now, I think. They look horrible though.

Forearm: Okey for now

Pelvis: Not yet resined. It's kinda big and very flimsy, anyone have a tip on how to position/stretch it good while fiberglassing so it's got a good form when it's hardened?

Thighs: These didn't turn out very hard after resined, and it's a little bit bent at the bottom. I think I can probably fix that with bondo or fiberglass or something though.

Greaves: Okey for now

Boots: I'm not doing boots at all unless I have a lot of time left. I really want to be done with everything by June 15th.


Overall: Turns out I'm an idiot and pretty crap at resining. I've gotten these hardened pools of resin on my pieces from when I've put them down to harden. Example:
IMAG0263.jpg

What should I do? I tried ripping some of it away with my hands but I'm really worried I'll tear of something important soon. I tried sanding it away by hand and with machine, but it's not easy.

I'm kind of afraid of fiberglassing, since the resining didn't go extremely well. Having to keep track of bits of fiberglass while resining the inside seems really hard. Is there any good alternative method to fiberglassing the inside? Some girl on the internet told me about water-activated tape, asked her where she got it but haven't heard from her since.


All models LD by ROBOGENESIS except for:
HD Handplate - ROBOGENESIS
MD Forearm - FlyingSquirrel
HD Chest - FlyingSquirrel
 
The only option to remove the extra resin is sanding. You may want to invest in a palm sander. You can remove the excess in no time.

To prevent further pooling of the resin, try not to put too much resin at one go. You are going to get runs. Another option is prop your pieces up during the curing process. I use a stick to hang the helmet during the curing process. The only thing you need to be careful is your piece may sag due to the weight.

b6e2af02.jpg
[/QUOTE]

Instead of fiberglassing it, you can check out rondo. It is basically a mix of resin and bondo. Look for the sticky in the noob forum for more help. Fiberglass is very difficult to work with but it is much stronger than rondo. The trick with fiberglass is you cut it in small pieces so they can conform to the shape better. First you brush a layer of resin inside, then lay the fiberglass on top. Then brush more resin. After a few tries, you will be an expert.
 
Do not split the chest until it is resined and glassed, or it will warp due to moisture, heat and weight and never line up again.

Cheers.
Cereal
 
The only option to remove the extra resin is sanding. You may want to invest in a palm sander. You can remove the excess in no time.

To prevent further pooling of the resin, try not to put too much resin at one go. You are going to get runs. Another option is prop your pieces up during the curing process. I use a stick to hang the helmet during the curing process. The only thing you need to be careful is your piece may sag due to the weight.

b6e2af02.jpg

Instead of fiberglassing it, you can check out rondo. It is basically a mix of resin and bondo. Look for the sticky in the noob forum for more help. Fiberglass is very difficult to work with but it is much stronger than rondo. The trick with fiberglass is you cut it in small pieces so they can conform to the shape better. First you brush a layer of resin inside, then lay the fiberglass on top. Then brush more resin. After a few tries, you will be an expert.[/QUOTE]

i agree here, other than fiberglass, rondo is pretty much your only option. same with applying the resin, you want to go thin coats. i brush on two to three coats depending on the piece, thickness of the resin, and how it hardens. minimum of two though.

whatever you do tho, DO NOT touch the torso till is glassed and ready for bondo! cereal killl3r is dead on on this!!

if your worried about keeping track of the fiberglass, use fiberglass mat. its a woven cloth, and about a million times easier to work with than regular glass.

for your cod piece tho, use the support struts from the file, and your golden.

the ab piece is up to you, ive sen some where its attached to the under suite, mine is attached to the armor period. what i see most commonly is that the ab is attached to the chest with buckles and nylon, so it looks right, but can flex easily

other than that, looks decent so far, i would suggest re-doing your pauldrons, they look pretty sad, and use the HD file, its got better detail, and alot of support struts so everything stays nice and straight. heres the link for it http://halocostuming.wikia.com/wiki/Pepakura_File_Index

hey, someone updated that site, theres a MK7 helmet up there now!
 
Alright guys, thanks for all the advice :D

I'm gonna try fiberglassing. With some luck I won't mess it up too much (and it's on the inside so it doesn't matter as much as the outside if it looks weird)

I've only put on one coat of resin and it's pretty hard (I kinda drenched the pieces). My dad says I probably won't have to put on another coat, but I don't know...

I just resined the torso. My resin ran out right when I was done so it might not have been as thick of a coat as the other pieces (I'll see how hard it is when... it's hard...)

The cod piece didn't come with any support struts except for the one on the bottom (which isn't helping at all...) :(

I really don't want to re-do the pauldrons, but I'll wait with resining them until I've fiberglassed/bondo'd some other pieces to see how much time I have left. I'm not really picky with how it looks, as long as it's done on time.

Also, when should I cut out the whole for the visor and insert that?

Oh, and how big a difference is there betweed fiberglass weave and the rougher fiberglass mat?
 
wow you use alot of resin! 0_o a gallon does my whole suite how i like it, you may need 2 haha!!

the visor is the same thing with the chest. so to avoid re-answering this, if you are going to cut any piece, you harden it first sso nothing warps! as for cutting the shins, you might want to cut those after sanding and bondo, but before paint.

the difference between mat and weave, is i would say, its workability, and possibly strength, im guessing on the strength based on what i know of molecular structure, when you have molecules all aligned in a patern, they are alot stronger, same with the weave. its a hell of alot easier to work with and peek track of where you put it thats for sure, and it dries pretty smoothe.

lastly, if you put fiberglass on the outside, just smash the peice and start over, because you will ruin the piece, period! i dont want you to do that, because that is frustrating to no end!

oh, try making supports for your cod piece
 
Thats an interesting helm design! It looks sick so far. Can't wait to see more. :)

you do need to read dude, that pick was a reference photo to give Andersson and idea on how to keep resin from pooling. firstly, hes making a MK6 suite, that pick is for MCs helmet from the halo 4 game. please read from now on to prevent stuff like this.
 
Sorry, I was actually pointing that post towards CoolC for the helmet portion, then Andersson for the rest. I should have clarified. My bad.
 
Alrighty, update!

So I've fiberglassed the codpiece, couldn't get arsed to print out supports for it so I put it up like this:
IMAG0270.jpg

Worked really well actually

Sanded off most of the pools of resin on most of the parts

Fiberglassed one thigh, went pretty well, better than expected

Just tried "bondo"-ing that same thigh... It went... I dunno
We don't have bondo here in Sweden, so I used something called PP100. One tube of 130ml for about 11$
IMAG0272.jpg

This is what I managed to do with one tube.
Is it supposed to be this expensive? ... damn...
 
I recommend rondo for the interior, at least for the first coat. It doesn't leave air bubbles, so when you're sanding and doing details you won't run into pockets you have to fill back up as much. On the outside of the pieces, when you're detailing I would recommend using as little bondo as possible at a time, this will avoid excess material usage that you're just going to be sanding away anyway. Looks like a good start, so keep up the good work!
 
Alrighty, update!

Just tried "bondo"-ing that same thigh... It went... I dunno
We don't have bondo here in Sweden, so I used something called PP100. One tube of 130ml for about 11$
IMAG0272.jpg

This is what I managed to do with one tube.
Is it supposed to be this expensive? ... damn...

You made the ultimate noob mistake. First off, don't fold every line when you pep the pieces. By default Pepakura draw the lines when the pieces need to be rounded. Don't fold the line and you will get a smoother round surface. See my post here explaining this step.

http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/29855-ODST-for-my-kids-WIP-Completed-(more-photos-Page-13)?p=483940#post483940

And as for bondo the outside. You only use it to smooth the surface, not covering the whole piece. See my video below.
 
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Yeah, not folding every line was probably someething I should've done... too late now though :/
The edges on the thighs are much sharper than the ones on your helmet, so I kinda have to do all of that if I want to make it round, no?
I guess I won't have to use that much when I get to the helmet though! :)
Isn't there a big difference in texture if you just bondo some parts?
I'm probably going to rondo the insides of at least my shins and helmet because I imagine it would be hard to get the fiberglass in there good enough
 
with how much trouble you seem to be having, and with how expensive that little tube of filler was, you may be better off doing tome pieces like the thighs arms and shins in foam, depending on availability.
 
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